Little Friendship in Austen's Persuasion
Jane Austen's Persuasion is a dark novel. From the jolting breaks in the romantic drama--the falls of little Charles and Louisa Musgrove--to the heroine's depressing existence--Anne Elliot has a "great tendency to lowness" (Austen 66)-- to the overall autumnal mood, the work is at times a gloomy, though always interesting, read. Perhaps its darkest facet though is the ubiquitous presence of an antagonist. While Mr. Elliot appears, most blatantly, to be the villain, in actuality, it is Lady Russell, whose persuasions are both manipulative and, frighteningly, pervasive, who should truly bear that stigma.
Upon learning that Anne will not be marrying Mr. Elliot, Mrs. Smith very adamantly curses him as the worst of men. This is the first indication of his supposed villainy. She claims him to be "a man without heart or conscience; a designing, wary, cold-blooded being . . . [having] no feeling for others . . . black at heart, hollow and black!" (132). Indeed, these are strong words, spoken by no less than a good friend of Anne. However, they ring false in light of what has previously been presented concerning his character.
From their first meeting, Mr. Elliot is "genuinely attracted" to Anne (Magill 29). He is not merely using her to get what he wants. Yes, he wants to "safeguard the title" (DaDundo 26), but not just for himself, yet for the title, or family name, itself. After all, it is vulnerable to "the plague of Mrs. Clay" (Austen 97), "whose 'freckles' not only indicate a flawed and 'spotted' moral interior but may indeed suggest remnants or traces of syphilis[!]" (Tanner 255). His attraction to Anne then is motivated by good on two counts. He is intereste...
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...ove and friendship (Harmon 541). But, really, "There is so little real friendship in the world!" (Austen 101).
Works Cited
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DaDundo, Laura. "Jane Austen" Concise Dictionary of British Literary Biography. Vol. III. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1992.
Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. Handbook to Literature. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1986.
Magill, Frank N., ed. English Novel: Richardson to Hardy. Pasadena: Salem Softbacks, 1980.
Southam, Brian. "Jane Austen." British Writers. Vol. IV. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribners, 1981.
Tanner, Tony. "In Between: Persuasion." Persuasion. By Jane Austen. Ed. Patricia Meyers Spacks. New York: Norton and Co., 1995.
Fowler, Karen J.Introduction. Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen: The Complete Novels. By Jane Austen. New York: Penguin, 2006. 211-421. Print.
Jane, Austen,. Emma complete, authoritative text with biographical, historical, and cultural contexts, critical history, and essays from contemporary critical perspectives. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002.
Southam, B.C., (ed.), Jane Austen: The Critical Heritage. Landon, NY: Routledge & Kegan Paul - Barres & Nobel Inc., 1968.
Societal failures during the time the book was written had a tremendous affect on the character development in the novel, Crime and Punishment. At the time, which Crime and Punishment was written, in the mid 1860s, Siberia, Russia was in poverty-stricken conditions. Under the rule of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, many outrageous reforms were passed on. Alexander issued a reform with the hope of emancipating millions of Russian peasants who were owned by landowners. However, what was meant to benefit the peasants, it rather constituted a major restructure of the Russian Society, thus causing much of chaos and turmoil. Through Raskolinokov’s perspective, we are able to see how poor and desolate the conditions are. Especially in the Capitol of Russia, where Raskolinokov lives in, there are many people who live on the streets, and seems as if poverty is inevitably unavo...
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment begins with Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov living in poverty and isolation in St. Petersburg. The reader soon learns that he was, until somewhat recently, a successful student at the local university. His character at that point was not uncommon. However, the environment of the grim and individualistic city eventually encourages Raskolnikov’s undeveloped detachment and sense of superiority to its current state of desperation. This state is worsening when Raskolnikov visits an old pawnbroker to sell a watch. During the visit, the reader slowly realizes that Raskolnikov plans to murder the woman with his superiority as a justification. After the Raskolnikov commits the murder, the novel deeply explores his psychology, yet it also touches on countless other topics including nihilism, the idea of a “superman,” and the value of human life. In this way, the greatness of Crime and Punishment comes not just from its examination of the main topic of the psychology of isolation and murder, but the variety topics which naturally arise in the discussion.
In his book Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky explores the paths of two men, Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov. These two men encompass many similar problems and obstacles throughout their lives. Both commit murders and are faced with the long and mentally excruciating journey of seeking redemption. They also share many characteristics of their personalities. The reason that the outcomes of their lives are so drastically different is due to the fact that they have completely different perspectives on life.
One of the aspects of Crime and Punishment that stands out is that it is much more than a simple crime story. It is in fact a great study of the mind of a murder. Raskolnikov is a terrifying but sympathetic main character precisely because he is just twisted enough, just ill enough, for the reader to believe anyone is capable of such atrocities. The jumping off point for Raskolnikov is his idea of extraordinary and ordinary people. Looking at his theory and applying it as a tool for analysis of Raskolnikov himself leads not only to a deeper understanding of this idea but also of Raskolnikov. It also explains to some degree how seemingly benign ideas can lead a believer to do unspeakable things.
Austen, Jane. Emma. Norton Critical 3rd edition, ed. Donald Gray New York and London: Norton, 2001.
In her book Princess, Jean Sasson conveys through the Princess Sultana's story of the many abuses of women in Saudi Arabia. For thousands of years, women in Saudi Arabia has earned no respect, given no identity (as if invisible), and were treated like sexual objects. Their only use is to produce male offspring, and to service their husbands sexually. This goes for all women. Although women of royalty are born free, they are just as insignificant as the lower class women. Through the eyes of Princess Sultana, Jean Sasson tells the cruel and unjust ways of the male society in Saudi Arabia.
Persuasion, by Jane Austen is a story of a maturing heroine and her second chance at love. Eight years before Persuasion picked up the story, Anne Elliot let herself be persuaded to refuse the man she loved because her family and friends told her she was above him. He left, his heart broken, and resented her for the next eight years. She never loved anyone else, and at the start of this romance novel, she was twenty seven years old, and unmarried. In Persuasion, Austen provides a character study of Anne Elliot who transforms from an easily persuaded young girl to a strong, independent woman; and in doing so changes the lense through which her family, friends and the man she loves view her.
...an only find true happiness in marriage with someone who shares similar manners and treasure people’s qualities over their look and status. This is when Anne’s sensibility allows her to disregard her family’s persuasion and become determined to fulfill her love with Wentworth.
Grochowski, Jonathan. "Jane Austen (b. 1775- D. 1817)." Jane Austen. N.p., 7 Dec. 2005. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. .
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: WW Norton &. Company, 1996.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment explores the dangerous effects of St. Petersburg, a malignant city, on the psyche of the impoverished student Raskolnikov. In this novel, Petersburg is more than just a backdrop. The city plays a central role in the development of the characters and the actions that they take. Raskolnikov survives in one of the cramped, dark spaces that are characteristic of Petersburg. These spaces are like coffins; they suffocate Raskolnikov's mind. St. Petersburg creates a grotesque environment in which Raskolnikov can not only create the "Overman Theory," but he can also carry it out by murdering a pawnbroker in cold blood, then justify his actions with the belief that society will be better off without her. Raskolnikov finds no relief outside of his cramped room; the Petersburg climate is just as oppressive to the psyche as the cramped space of Raskolnikov’s room. Not only is the outside air dangerous; it forces him to find relief in the devil’s tavern. While wandering the infernal streets of St. Petersburg, Raskolnikov enters the devil’s realm in the form of Petersburg taverns. These are evil places, where treacherous ideas of robbery and murder circulate. Raskolnikov overhears the twisted idea to kill the pawnbroker inside one of these infested taverns.
Fergus, Jan. “Biography.” The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen. Ed. Janet Todd.